During the US elections, centibillionaire and X owner Elon Musk became a central figure in right-wing and Republican politics, helping to propel former president Donald Trump back into the White House. But now it seems like he’s just getting started. In the months since Trump’s victory, Musk has begun to wade into politics in Europe, starting firestorms in the UK and announcing that he’ll be hosting an X Spaces discussion with Alice Weidel, the head of the German right-wing party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), ahead of Germany’s elections in February.
“We should understand Musk as a sort of international far-right leader,” says João Vieira Magalhaes, assistant professor of media, politics, and democracy at the University of Groningen. “He is an articulator of a truly international far-right movement, which of course, already exists, but in a way that's way more fragmented.”
Through X, and his own larger-than-life celebrity presence, Musk is bringing together and boosting the far right across the globe.
During the US elections, Musk emerged as one of Trump’s most important allies. Not only did he help support and fund Trump’s campaign via the America PAC and appear on the campaign trail with the former president, he also used his ownership of X to elevate the campaign’s talking points. After gutting Twitter’s trust and safety teams and allowing previously banned figures back on the platform, research indicated that engagement on X with posts from Musk and other conservative voices were boosted after after Musk publicly endorsed Trump to favor conservative voices and deprioritize critics—what Magalhaes calls “illiberal content moderation.” “He is signaling to whoever wants to listen that this is the space for this kind of political actor,” he says.
In December, the German government accused Musk of trying to meddle in the country’s elections after he authored an op-ed in which he endorsed the AfD. The AfD rose to power in the wake of the 2015 refugee crisis, which saw millions of people, particularly from Syria and other parts of the Middle East, flee to Europe, and has a staunchly anti-immigrant stance. Last year, it was revealed that members of the AfD had met with German and Austrian leaders associated with the far right and neo-Nazis to discuss plans for mass deportation if AfD gains more political power, and members of the party have been monitored by the country’s intelligence agencies. The AfD has also been particularly adept at using social media to garner support, including running anti-immigrant ads on Meta’s platforms that appeared to violate the company’s policies at the time.
In response to Musk’s op-ed, Weidel posted a video in which she thanked Musk “so much for your note,” and wished Trump and Musk “all the best for the upcoming tenure.”
Germany isn’t the only country Musk is weighing in on on behalf of the far right. Since the close of the US election, Musk has taken aim at politics in the UK, attacking British prime minister Keir Starmer, a member of the left-of-center Labor Party, and even calling for his imprisonment. Starmer’s government “is one of the very few governments in rich countries or especially important countries that is leaning left,” says Magalhaes. “And [Musk] has been especially resolute in how he attacks the administration.”
Most recently, Musk spread conspiracy theories about Muslim “grooming gangs” in the UK, and called for Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist, to be released from prison. Musk’s support for Robinson, who has a history of posting racist and Islamophobic content, initially saw Reform UK leader Nigel Farage push back against the X owner. But in a TV show he hosts on the right-wing GB News station this week, Farage appeared to bend the knee to Musk.
“I don’t think [Robinson’s] wrong in everything he says,” Farage told his viewers. “I do question why he’s in prison, and being kept in solitary confinement.” (Robinson is in prison after being found in contempt of court for repeating lies about a Syrian refugee.)
Last year, Musk spent months antagonizing Brazilian supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes after the court issued orders for X to remove a handful of accounts and content that, it said, had violated the law by undermining faith in the integrity of the country’s elections. After Brazil’s right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro lost his reelection bid in 2022, his supporters stormed the country’s legislature on January 8, 2023, claiming that the election had been stolen (it hadn’t), in an echo of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. Moraes was a staunch opponent of Bolsonaro. X spent months refusing to obey the order, even turning over sealed court orders to the US Congress’ Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, led by right-wing congressman Jim Jordan, which then released them publicly.
At the time, many in Brazil felt that Musk’s actions, as well as the release of the orders, were a move to undermine the country’s democracy and sovereignty. The Brazilian court eventually issued an order to block X in the country for noncompliance and issued a fine against Musk-owned Starlink, after which X complied with the orders.
He also fiercely attacked Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, during the country’s elections (which many in the international community believe to have been rigged).
“He has established himself as a powerful connection hub between different groups of people across many countries,” says Christian Katzenbach, professor of media and communication at the University of Bremen. Those groups include people in the tech industry, moderate conservatives, advocates of economic liberalism, and right-wing movements. “These groups did not have many connections in the past, but increasingly align on opposing modern mid/left governments.” By amplifying a variety of voices, he says, Musk is actively bringing right-wing perspectives into mainstream debates and opening up new population groups as voters for right-wing parties.
Even outside of elections, Musk appears to be building alliances with like-minded leaders. In April, Musk met with Argentina’s right-wing president Javier Milei. Milei’s government has slashed spending in ways that Musk said in an X post “will be a helpful model for the rest of the world.” Argentina’s poverty rate under Milei’s government has risen to over 50 percent.
And while Musk certainly seems to be motivated by particular political ideologies, Katzenbach notes that Musk’s involvement in European politics could benefit his business interests, particularly by rolling back social media regulations in the bloc or opening new avenues for his companies. The EU is currently probing X for breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA), which could result in fines. In Italy, Musk is exploring a deal with the right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni for a deal to launch satellite communications through Starlink to the tune of $1.5 billion, which would compete with a European satellite initiative.
“Internationally his motives are surely a mixed bag,” says Katzenbach. But either way, Musk seems determined to be a political force beyond any national border.
David Gilbert contributed reporting.
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